Quick Points: How and why to look at Hyatt award calendars before booking
Quick summary
World of Hyatt award charts provide a good mix of predictability and dynamic pricing. On peak travel dates, World of Hyatt can cover higher paid rates by requiring more points on high-demand nights, but with off-peak award rates, travelers can enjoy savings on less in-demand nights.
I love to stay at Hyatt Category 1 hotels, which are just 3,500 points per night on off-peak dates, but you can save points at Hyatt hotels and resorts of all categories by checking the World of Hyatt award calendars to find off-peak dates and avoid booking stays on peak dates.
How to use Hyatt's award calendars
It's easy to see the award chart for any particular hotel you're interested in. Search for a stay on Hyatt's website as normal, click "View Rates" for a specific property and then click "Points Calendar" near the top of the page under the property's phone number.
Doing so will load a calendar view of award rates for the month you selected.
Click the arrows for a different month, or use the drop-down menu to see award rates for a different room type.
Know, though, that the award calendar only shows the published award rate for that night; it doesn't show live inventory. In other words, you'd need to actually search for availability to see whether any rooms can be booked with points at that price on that date.
Related: 5 easy ways to maximize Hyatt award redemptions
Why using Hyatt's award calendars matters
Let's consider the weeklong stay in Bali, Indonesia, that we searched for in the previous section. If we wanted to stay at Alila Ubud, we could look at the award calendar for that property and see that we could stay for an entire week at off-peak pricing if we visited in April instead of February.
By shifting our dates, we could stay seven nights at Alila Ubud for 45,500 World of Hyatt points instead of 56,000 points. Based on TPG's valuations, we'd save $178 worth of points by traveling two months later.
Or, if our dates are set, we could check the award calendars of other Hyatt properties in Bali to see if some have off-peak nights on our dates. For example, we could spend a few nights at Alila Ubud and then shift to Alila Manggis for the remainder of our stay to benefit from its Category 1 off-peak pricing.
Or, we could spend the entire week at Alila Manggis for just 24,500 points since all seven nights during our desired dates are off-peak dates.
Related: Here's how to quickly stock up on Hyatt points for your next vacation
Bottom line
I frequently look at the award calendar when booking Hyatt stays. Doing so saved me some points on my own trip to Bali earlier this year. I used the information on the award calendars to split my stay between two properties to avoid peak pricing at either property.
Hyatt's award calendar feature may also come in handy if you find yourself a night or two short of your desired Hyatt elite status as the end of the year approaches. After all, you can use the award calendar for a particular property to plan a last-minute getaway or staycation for a minimal number of points.